The NASCAR race weekend is all set to make its debut at the iconic Daytona Road Course. NASCAR is running Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series races for the first time at the Daytona Road Course, due to numerous changes in schedule owing to the Coronavirus pandemic. Most of the drivers have no experience whatsoever of driving at the course, making it an exciting as well as somewhat dangerous prospect, come race time.

Sunday’s Cup Series race will have most eyeballs seeing how the drivers navigate their way through. There are several things that the drivers and fans watching the races will look out for as well this weekend.

No feel of the track for drivers at Daytona Road Course

As the season took off after the break, NASCAR decided to not hold practice and qualifying sessions for any of the races this season, keeping in mind the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This means the first time the drivers can get a feel of the course, it will be the first lap of the race itself. They have no idea how the turns and corners will play. The only shot they had at getting any idea of the track was through simulators and iRacing. It would be no surprise if we see a lot of crashes.

“I think that’s going to be super, super difficult for everybody. And it’s going to be one of those things where you have to creep up on it, and it’s a hard guess. We can run (simulations) until we’re blue in the face. But ultimately that doesn’t, in my opinion, give you the visual aids that you need to do the right things at the right times,” Chase Elliott said in an interview.

NASCAR also prohibited drivers from taking part in more than one race during the weekend. This halts the practice of drivers participating in more races to get more track time.

Will the additional chicane be game-changing?

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The same track layout is used for the Rolex 24 Hour race in January. The NASCAR races will have one change, with the tactical addition of a chicane at the exit of Turn 4 of the Daytona oval. The additional chicane extends the course to 3.61 miles with 14 turns. This will make things interesting off that final turn, also giving drivers a chance at making a pass.

This is a major change, believes Kyle Busch. “The speed you carried from bus stop to the Turn 1 entrance really lended itself to drafting and making moves with the draft and air. So now, with us having the chicane, that’s certainly not going to be the case for anyone familiar with the Daytona road course and the Rolex 24. It’s one section that has changed, but it will change the whole complexion of the track, in my opinion,” Busch opined.

Will rain make it tougher?

Rain will be another major factor in an already challenging road course. There are chances of thunderstorms on both race days, and NASCAR will run the races if there is no lightning close within a 10-mile radius of the track.

NASCAR Cup Drivers Bracing Themselves for Difficult Race at Daytona Amid Rain Threat